Dhanbad: The Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) has taken suo motu cognizance of the alleged humiliation of girl students by their school principal in Dhanbad district, a lawyer said on Monday. It has directed the district legal services authority (DLSA) to investigate the matter, the lawyer said.
On the instructions of JHALSA, a nine-member team formed under the leadership of District and Sessions Judge cum Chairman of DLSA Virendra Kumar Tiwari had a word with some female students on Sunday. Meanwhile, sources said that the administration has sealed the principal's room. This has been done so that anyone could not tamper with the CCTV footage. Statements of the victims and guardians were also recorded, he said.
The principal was accused of ordering 80 girls from class 10 to remove their shirts for writing messages on them, prompting the administration to initiate an inquiry. The girls were allegedly forced to return home in their blazers without shirts, parents alleged.
Following JHALSA’s directive, principal district and sessions judge and Dhanbad DLSA chairman Virendra Kumar Tiwari formed a nine-member committee under the chairmanship of legal and defence council system (LDCS) chief Kumar Vimlendu. DLSA secretary Rakesh Roshan said the committee has been directed to submit a report as soon as possible.
On Sunday, the Jharkhand Abhibhawak Mahasangh (JAM) filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), accusing the principal of committing a "shameful act" and demanding action under the POCSO Act.
SDM Rajesh Kumar, and District Education Officer Nishu Kumari on Monday reached the school for an investigation into this matter. At the same time, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) team also reached the school.
"CWC is not included in the investigation committee. CWC has reached the school for investigation under the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). After the report of the investigation committee arrives, we will investigate this matter at our level. After reaching the school, we had a talk with the victim students," CWC chairman Uttam Mukherjee said.
"We have questioned those who were called for questioning by the administrative team. The investigation is still in its initial stages," he added. The chairman said that it is not a good idea to create a rift between the students of classes 11 and 10. (With PTI Inputs)
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